Method of making hinges



- Sept. 8, 1936.

w. R. LUSTIG METHOD OF MAKING HINGES Filed June 15; 1935 1a A a h w Tl; w 9 7 9, v d f J 4. r 1 1 M 5 J,

Patented Sept. 8, 1936 METHOD OF MAKING HINGES Application June 15, 1935, Serial No. 26,836

Claims.

This application is a continuation in part of my application Serial No. 14,777, filed April This'invention relates to a method of manu- 5 facturing hinges, and more particularly the outer member of a closed type hinge especially designed and adapted for use on the .doors of motor vehicles.

The principal object of my invention is to provide a method whereby the hinge member may be economically manufactured of sheet metal using the simpler blanking and forming operations, said method resulting not only in a hinge of lowor cost, but also one of unusually good appearance and one having the requisite strength and rigidity. I

In accordance with'the present method, the outer member is blanked in 'one operation. and formed in a second operation to provide top and bottom flanges, then the blank is milled from one end between the flanges to form knuckles on the ends of said flanges with a knuckle recess therebetween for the inner hinge member. A simple drilling operation to provide holes for the pintle in the knuckle portions of said'flanges virtually completes the outer hinge member, there being only a slight grinding operation togive the desired shape to the periphery of the knuckle portions.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which-- Figs. 1 and 2 are views looking at the opposite sides of a hinge made in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 3 is an end view thereof, and Fig. 4 a top view;

Fig. 5 is a perspective of the blank for the outer hinge member produced in the first operation;

7 Fig. 6 shows the same blank as it appears after the forming operation, and V Fig. 7 shows the completed outer hinge member produced by milling, drilling, and grindingthe formed bank of Fig. 6.

The same reference numerals are applied to corresponding parts throughout the views.

Referring first to Figs. 1 to 4, the numerals I0 and l I designate the outer and inner hinge members, respectively, arranged to be fastened in the usual way to the door and body pillar, respective- 5 1y, on an automobile. That portion of the hinge member l6 projecting from the door is of channel-shaped cross-section to provide longitudinal top and bottom cover flanges l2 and I3, respectively, between which the exposed portion of the other hinge member H is received, when the knuckle M on the end thereof is pivotally connected to the projecting knuckles l5 and 56 by a pintle ll. The space between the inner and outer hinge members is therefore closed by the flanges l2 and 13 for better appearance and to exclude moisture. The shank of the pintle H has a working fit in the bore 98 of the knuckle M and a drive fit in the holes H9 in the knuckles l5 and I6, for obvious reasons. A slight clearance is provided at 29 between the knuckle l4 and the end 5 of the hinge member I6 suflicient to avoid scraping of the knuckle in the opening and closing of the door, and yet not sufficient to detract from the closed appearance of the hinge or give rise to much danger of moisture entering and interl0 fering with the easy operation of the door. The ends of the knuckle Hi are slightly in relief with respect to the top and bottom edges of the hinge member it so as to leave a slight clearance, as indicated at 2 l between the flanges l2 and i3 and 15 the edges of the member 1 i. In that way, the closed appearance is maintained on the back of the hinge, and easy operation is insured, and all end thrust is assumed where the knuckle portions 55 and N5 of the flanges l2 and [3 have abut- 0 ment with the ends of the knuckle M. An oil hole 22 is preferably provided in 'the top flange l2 alongside the pintle ll arranged to register with a depression 23 formed inthe upper end of the knuckle l4, extending radially from the bore l8 and formed suitably by means of a punch. Oil supplied to this depression through the hole 22 will travel the full length of the bore l8 and thus keep the hinge well lubricated so as to operate easily and quietly.

It should appear from the foregoing description that the hinge of my invention is attractive in appearance when viewed from any direction, allsides giving substantially the appearance obtained on the front, top and end of a covered joint hinge but not obtained in suchhinges on the back. Obviously, since the back of the hinge is just as much exposed as the front, it is just as important that that side have a good appearance. Observing Figures 14, it is readily ap-' parent that this closed type hinge has the same flush, covered appearance on all sides.

Both hinge members are preferably formed from sheet metal. The inner member H is blanked and pierced in one operation, and the end of the blank thus produced is formed into the hinge knuckle M in two operations'one known as a break down and the other as a curling operation. The steps in making the outer hinge memebr iii! are illustrated in Figs. 5 to 7. The outer member is stamped from sheet metal to produce the blank A shown in Fig. 6. Similarly as in the case of the inner hinge member, the blank for the outer hinge member is pierced in the same operation to provide the usual bolt holes required in the fastening of the hinge member to the door. It will be observed that the blank has laterally projecting end portions b and c to provide stock for the flanges l2 and I3, respectively, and the knuckle portionsl5 and I6 coextensive therewith. In the next operation, the projecting portions b and c are bent into parallelism, as in Fig. 6, to provide the top and bottom cover flanges I 2 and I3. In a third operation, the end of the blank is milled between the flanges I2 and I3 to the extent indicated at 24 to provide the space for the knuckle I4 between the knuckle portions l5 and. I6 defined at the ends of the flanges I2 and I3, respectively, and at the same time provide for the clearance 29, previously referred to, for the knuckle IA. The knuckle portions l5 and 16 can now be drilled to provide the pintle holes l9 and oil hole 22. This substantially completes the outer hinge member, there being only a slight grinding off necessary to round off the periphery of the knuckle portions by removal of the'stock indicated in dotted lines at 25. The flanges l2 and I3, it will be noted, are bent along lines 26 spaced inwardly sufficiently from the longitudinal edges of the blank to have the outer surfaces of the resulting flanges substantially in a common plane with the longitudinal edges of the blank, as clearly appears in Figs. 6-and 7. This greatly increases the strength of the hinge member and at the same time makes for much better appearance. The extra width in the shank portion enables placing the screw or bolt holes farther apart and the hinge mounting is accordingly stronger and less apt to loosen. In the bending of these flanges, rounded longitudinal edges 21 are formed which greatly improve the appearance of the hinge. The fact that the end of the blank is milled out between the flanges to the line 24 assures the desired flat parallel surfaces on the inside of the knuckle portions 55 and I6 for abutment with the ends of the knuckle M of the inner hinge member.

It is believed the foregoing description conveys a. good understanding of my invention. The appended claims have been drawn with a view to covering all legitimate modifications and adaptations.

I claim:

1. The method of making the outer member of a covered type hinge which comprises punching a blank of the desired shape from a piece of sheet metal to provide a fastening shank portion and a wider end portion, then bending the opposed edge portions of the end portion into parallelism to provide parallel flanges, then milling out at the end of the blank between the flanges to define parallel knuckle portions on the ends of the flanges with sufficient clearance therebetween to receive the knuckle end of an inner hinge member, andfinallyperforating the knuckle portions in coaxial alignment to receive a hinge pintle.

2. The method of making the outer member of a covered type hinge which comprises punching a blank of the desired shape from a piece of sheet metal to provide a fastening shank portion and a wider end portion, then bending the opposed edge portions of the end portion into parallelism to provide parallel flanges, then re moving stock from the end of the blank between the flanges so as to define parallel knuckle portions on the ends of said flanges, and then perforating the knuckle portions to receive a hinge pintle.

3. The method set forth in claim 2, including removing the corners of the knuckle portions substantially on arcs with the pintle holes as centers.

4. The method set forth in claim 2 which includes in the last-mentioned step further perforating one ofthe flanges in spaced relation to the pintle hole to provide an oil hole in said flange.

5. The method of making the outer member of a covered type hinge which comprises punching a blank of the desired shape from a piece of sheet metal to provide a fastening'shank portion and a wider end portion, then bending the opposed edge portions of the end portion on parallel lines spaced inwardly from the longitudinal edges of the shank portion, whereby to provide parallel flanges whose outer surfaces are in planes substantially coincident with the longitudinal edges of the shank portion, then removing stock from the end of the blank between the flanges so as to define parallel knuckle portions on the ends of said flanges, and then perforating the knuckle portions to receive a hinge pintle.

6. The method of making the outer member of a covered type hinge which comprises punching a blank of the desired shape from a piece of sheet metal to provide a fastening shank portion and a wider end portion, then bending the'opposed edge portions of the end portion into parallelism to provide parallel flanges, then milling out stock at the end of the blank between the flanges so as to define knuckle portions on the ends of the flanges having flat parallel inside faces adapted to bear against the ends of the knuckle portion of an inner hinge member, and thereafter drilling aligned pintle holes inthe knuckle portions. 7

7. The method set forth in claim 5 including removing the corners on the knuckle portions substantially on arcs with the pintle holes as centers.

8. The method of making the outer member of a covered type hinge which comprises making a blank of the desired shape from a piece of sheet metal to provide a fastening shank portion and a wider end portion, then bending the opposed edge portions of the end portion into parallelism to provide parallel flanges, and removing stock from the end of the blank between the flanges so as to define parallel knuckle portions on the ends of said flanges.

9. The method of making the outer member of a covered type hinge which comprises making a blank of the desired shape from a piece of sheet metal to provide a fastening shank portion and a wider end portion, then bending the opposed edge portions of the end portion on parallel lines spaced inwardly from the longitudinal edges of the shank portion, whereby to provide parallel flanges whose outer surfaces are in planes substantially coincident with the longitudinal edges or the shank portion, and removing stock from the end'of the blank between the flanges so as todefine parallel knuckle portions on the ends of said flanges.

10. The method of making the outer member of a covered type hinge which comprises making a blank of the desired shape from a piece of sheet metal to provide a fastening shank portion and a wider end portion, then bending the opposed edge portions of the end portion into parallelism toprovide parallel flanges, and then cutting out stock at the end of the blank between the flanges so as to define parallel knuckle portions on the ends of said flanges and so as to form the end of the blank between the flanges at an acute angle with respect to the longitudinal plane of said blank.

- WALTER R. LUSTIG. 

